


Bounce Back

by Luna_Myth



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Awkwardness, Character Study, Confessions, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Dating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Feelings, First Dates, For a Friend, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Prompt Fill, Romance, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, human!perry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Myth/pseuds/Luna_Myth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heinz Doofenshmirtz makes a request of Perry Fletcher and there’s no way Perry can turn him down. {Human!Perry} {Canon Verse}</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bounce Back

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheLonelyJournalKeeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyJournalKeeper/gifts).



> …I dunno. I’m sorry for the significant lack of cohesion? And how it’s mostly character meta and overly posh screaming from me… I had a lot of feelings. Also, I don’t actually know about the Australian thing. I might have made that up.

Perry couldn’t refuse him this after everything they’d been through. To pull away at the last moment… Perry couldn’t make himself do that. It would crush the last remains of optimism in his friend’s already battered heart. A pang of unease ran through him. Heinz had never seemed to catch a break whenever he’d told Perry his backstories. The evil scientist would go on to attempt to take over the Tri-State Area many times, but in no way had he deserved all of that. Still, Perry had to admit he admired how Heinz always seemed to bounce back. Maybe just this once, the man deserved to not have to do that.

Looking Heinz in the eyes, Perry removed his communicator watch and threw it to the ground with a sharp flick of his wrist. It hit the floor away from them and the screen cracked in half before shattering. It was worthless now, which was exactly the message he hoped to get across to Heinz. His standard O.W.C.A edition watch was smashed on the floor of the lab, suddenly no different than any other old watch.

Heinz opened his mouth, color rising to his cheeks, and Perry thought the message had come across clear: _they_ don’t matter.

“So,” said Heinz, at a loss for words for once in his life. “I take it… you’re, you know, going to… accept my offer?”

Despite the attempted casual tone, his face was still heated, a rosy blush lingering on his cheeks, and his voice became higher towards the end, a mix of nervousness and hope. For all Perry thought his nemesis wanted to sound confident or even mildly sardonic, it was clear he was genuinely wondering. Heinz’s posture, already pretty bad, was worsened as he withdrew into himself, hunching his shoulders and clasping his hands together in front of his chest, like he was trying to take up as little space as possible. He was the very picture of a nervous schoolboy with a crush.

Perry felt another pang at the sight of him, a soft _chrr-ing_ noise rumbling out from deep in his chest. He signed the word _yes_ at Heinz with strong and deliberate hands before reaching out and patting him on the shoulder, thankful his dark skin tone hid the heat rushing to his cheeks. Perry gave Heinz a final thumbs up and familiar lopsided smile to reassure him.

Suddenly, Heinz came back to life, grinning and gesturing wildly, his theatrics returned to him.

“Alright!” he exclaimed to no one in particular, his long arms spread out once more and his whole being in motion even though his overall posture remained the same.  He still had a rosy tint across his face and that combined with his messy hair created almost exhilarated look. Perry forced himself to pretend he didn’t notice. “ _Yes_!”

He pulled Perry into a hug, waiting a moment too long before sliding around to stand beside him. One of his arms, mechanical and yet real, hovered around Perry’s shoulders before falling back to his side, like he wasn’t quite sure of himself.

Heinz wasn’t the only one feeling uncertain. Perry’s own circulatory system was in overdrive, heart beating a thousand times a minute, and surely even Heinz Doofenshmirtz could see that he was blushing now. His hand twitched next to Heinz’s and he saw the broken watch out of the corner of his eye. He’d gone this far already. Perry grabbed the other man’s hand. Their eyes met briefly, a flicker of sheepishness on both of their faces, before everything sped back into motion.

The moment Perry grabbed his hand, Heinz started off towards the door of the lab, looking back at his partner and opening his mouth to speak as they walked. Perry wasn’t surprised to find himself being dragged along by his longtime friend and nemesis. The man was one of the most enthusiastic people Perry had ever met, given the right circumstances.

“How do you feel about _seafood_?” Heinz asked with the air of someone who could be asking about anything in the world. “I know a nice place not too far from here and you’re Australian, right? Australians like seafood. Or is that stereotyping? Either way, I know I didn’t specify where we would be going when I asked you out for dinner, so I thought I’d get your input. See, that’s nice of me, isn’t it? I can be nice. Evil doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk, you know.”

Perry rolled his eyes and Heinz caught the gesture as he opened the door to let them out into the hallway.

 _Seafood is fine, but keep the Australian stereotypes to a minimum._ Perry signed to him, temporarily pulling his hand from Heinz’s grip. _And trust me, I’m aware not all evil scientists are jerks._

He gave Heinz a teasing one-armed hug as he shut the door behind them in case there was any doubt what he was talking about. Heinz locked it, fumbling awkwardly with his keys while stealing glances at Perry, who was hovering nearby.

“Gee, that’s, uh, pretty nice of you to say,” he commented, flustered. “Although I’m not sure what it says about our relationship that I find that so… reassuring.”

Perry had no reply to that, so he took Heinz’s hand again and started dragging the both of them down the hall to the elevator. Heinz kept talking as they walked, about all manner of things, but he kept coming back to their relationship, with the same nervous and endearing tone of voice each time.

“You know, I was a little worried there,” Heinz admitted in such a conversational manner that Perry almost missed it. It hardly sounded like an admission at all, but Perry knew it was one.

 _No reason to be_ , Perry signed to reassure him. _Was always going to accept._

Heinz often brought up important details about himself in a way designed to detract from their significance. It was an odd self-defeating quirk of his, probably left over from his past. If Heinz only ever acknowledged his hurt casually, like it were part of everyday conversation, it probably made it less painful. It detracted from its power at the same time as it detracted from his ability to speak openly about anything and it always made Perry’s fingers twitch with a desire to do something. To take action.

The system might have made it easier for Heinz to pretend his past didn’t hurt him, but Perry was beginning to think he knew better than that. Listening to that many backstories, no matter how casually or jovially they’d been told, no matter how self-aware Heinz had been about the hurt he’d gone through… Perry was aware that something was troubling his nemesis even if no one else was.

No wonder he hadn’t been able to refuse Heinz’s earnest invitation, the O.W.C.A be damned.

Heinz pressed the button to call for the elevator and turned back to Perry. “You-you were? Wow, um, now I feel kind of _awkward_ for how worried I was about asking you to dinner. But I’m not a mind reader, you know? I’m not psychic. So uh, you could have been a little more _obvious_ , just to let me know what was going on. And save us both some of the trouble.”

The elevator appeared and the two of them got in, thankfully finding it empty. They were still alone and Perry preferred it that way. Having an important conversation was a struggle at the best of times and he didn’t want someone else privy to it.

 _You could have been more obvious too,_ Perry countered, not unkindly. _Then maybe it wouldn’t have taken me so long to figure out what was going on in our relationship._

He still wasn’t entirely sure he had processed it correctly, but if he hadn’t it was too late now. He’d given up on listening to OWCA in regards to his relationship with Heinz and he had found himself going full steam ahead, to wherever it would lead him. A seafood restaurant, apparently. On a date with his nemesis.

Perry loved his family and he greatly valued his strange friendship with Heinz, but his duty to O.W.C.A had always remained one of his top priorities. Even when his own thoughts and feelings differed from what was expected of him. It was for that reason that he had missed so many family vacations, put in so many hours even when he was supposed to have time off, and always maintained some distance in his relationship with Heinz. But it was dawning on Perry that he didn’t really know what OWCA had done to deserve so much of his loyalty. They didn’t do a whole lot for him. His requests for vacation time were always denied and despite the many near misses with his family, he couldn’t tell them what he actually did.

Perry had found himself getting sick of their regulations and rules.

And he’d always had a strange sort of respect for Heinz, ever since they’d met, even if the man himself doesn’t seem to have much self-respect. Heinz was clever, but he played by strange rules. He built machines capable of impossible tasks, almost on par with the ones Phineas and Ferb created, but he refused to use them for good. He had always chosen to remain ‘evil’, maintain an odd balance instead. Perry had had to respect those standards, as twisted as they were.

“Yeah, well, it took me a while too,” said Heinz, “so I couldn’t _possibly_ have been expected to actually _do_ something.” He gave a small laugh as he leaned against the inside of the elevator. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

Perry rolled his eyes, but a smile crept across his face as well. He was going to go on a date with this person. How on earth could that have happened? And how could the idea make him so happy?

Heinz was the most interesting person Perry had ever met. He should not have been so surprised at how his feelings towards him had changed. He should not have been so surprised at himself when he’d started hanging around after battles. Their mutual respect had become friendship at some point when Perry had been too busy escaping traps to have been paying attention.

And shortly after that, it had started to become something indescribable. Something outside of Perry’s experience. Something truly _good_. Perry hadn’t really sure what it was, and he definitely couldn’t have put a name on it, but he _had_ been sure it was good.

And that was when Heinz had asked him out to dinner.

Perry’s gradual enlightenment had suddenly become full-blown realization and even if he’d been up for speaking, he knew he’d have been speechless. His normally professional demeanor had dropped in the blink of an eye. As far as Perry was concerned, it had yet to return.

He knew his relationship with Heinz was unorthodox. That was always assumed. After all, not many agents helped their nemeses plan birthday parties for said nemesis’s daughter. Or ran to their rescue at the first sign of foul play. Or even took care of them when they were ill. But Perry liked Heinz, genuinely, and after years of his job being entwined with the man, friendship was only a small price to pay.

But it had become something else. Something that might come with a bigger price tag and Perry had been in shock because he’d always heard of this thing, but was this really it?

It was the closest Perry had found. He had accepted the idea, accepted the new terms for their relationship, and then he had been left with a choice. But it wasn’t much of a choice, not when it was Heinz. Perry had accepted the dinner date the moment he had wrapped his head around the idea. What an idea. What a possibility. _Love._

When faced with loyalty to OWCA or letting down someone he loved, Perry picked forsaking the OWCA every time. He had smashed his watch, looked Heinz in the eyes, and soon they were out the door together, but Perry was reeling more than he ever did from missions. Not even a secret agent can process realized love very fast.

He took a deep breath to try to clear his head. He looked to Heinz, who was whistling absently beside him in the elevator. They were going out to dinner. On a date. And Perry could feel happiness rising in him at the thought. He studied Heinz, hoping for the same reaction in him.

“What are you looking at?” Heinz asked with a hint of defensiveness.

Perry considered the question before answering. _Boyfriend, I think._


End file.
